Hi Rosalee,
On the assumption you are refering to Kenmore sewing machine, there are quite a few complicated technical issues that may cause this issue.
As most potential causes and fixes are way too complicated to answer directly here, I have found you a link to a forum page that goes into details on the same issue with your machine, I hope it's useful:
https://www.shopyourway.com/questions/1194749
Rupert, April 2020
